Sarah Bracken Soper

Sarah Bracken Soper is a multidisciplinary visual artist based in Dublin, Ireland. Her work explores themes of feminism, Irish identity, social justice and inequality. "I believe that creation of art is an essential process in our understanding of the world and a crucial tool for change and recovery." Bracken holds a masters degree in art & design education from NCAD and is an experienced art educator who often engages with communities to inform her work. Her work has been highly commended by the National Gallery of Ireland.

"Skylarking" is about me delving into my family history at the Guinness Archives, and through that experience feeling more connected to my grandad who I never met. My Mam always talks about him like he was a saint, but through the archives I discovered a more mischievous side to him that I knew nothing about. Reading his records made me smile and brought him to life for me. My artwork shows me looking into a box that represents the Guinness Archives. The walls of the box are made of the external walls of the Guinness Storehouse, which my great, great grandfather worked on as a builder, carrying piles of heavy bricks (he was a hod carrier for McLoughlan and Harvey). Inside the box is the iconic photo of my grandfather having a cigarette break while working on the Guinness barges on the River Liffey. A cloud of hops filled smoke comes from his mouth like he's commuting with me through Guinness, through the archives. My clothes are patterned with barley, showing my connection made with my grandad through Guinness. Without him I would not be here, everything flows from him. In this piece I wanted to pay tribute to the craftsmanship and hands on work, the art work is a mix of new and old techniques, the hops and barley are hand carved, inked and printed and combined with photos and digital illustration.